1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a safety apparatus for inhibiting an outbreak of an electrical fire within an electrical box.
More specifically, the present invention relates to a safety apparatus for inhibiting an outbreak of an electrical fire within an electrical box such as an electrical breaker box or an electrical junction or outlet box.
2. Background Information
According to the National Fire Protection Agency, the estimated annual casualties in America are: 320 deaths caused by electrical fires, 1,700 injuries and the losses associated with residential wiring systems of $797,000,000.00 as of 1991
Many of these fires begin in the “breaker box”. A relatively new device, the AFCI (arc-fault circuit interrupter), is required by code in new construction homes, but there are no devices designed specifically to combat a potential electrical fire when ignition-level heat is detected in the load center enclosure.
In most standard electrical load center enclosures there is oxygen and “fuel” in the form of plastic components, paper insulation, and the like. All that is needed is an adequate amount of heat to ignite the “fuel”. Weak, loose, or faulty electrical connections generate heat. The heat as a source of ignition can happen at low enough amperes to avoid detection by a circuit breaker, and breakers can simply fail to operate.
The outbreak of an electrical fire could be prevented by removing oxygen when ignition-level heat is detected. All electrical load centers are enclosed in a plastic or metal box.
The present invention prevents the outbreak of an electrical fire so that as an electrical connection fails and begins to heat up, a thermal sensing device detects the rise in temperature and actuates a mechanism to inject a fire-inhibiting mixture to displace all oxygen within the enclosure, indefinitely. Without oxygen, the faulty wiring cannot ignite and a fire is prevented.
More specifically, according to the present invention, when sufficient heat is present, a thermal strip warps, then Jewelers thread is pulled by the warping action of the thermal strip and opens a spring-loaded actuation mechanism. A mixing valve is opened for combining the foaming agent with liquid and vapor propellant thus injecting the fire inhibiting mixture into the enclosure.
The device is designed with many necessary properties in mind. Among these are the suppression efficiency, re-ignition prevention, residue level, electrical conductivity, corrosiveness, stability, and current environmental standards.
The apparatus according to the present invention can be quickly mounted on almost all load centers, meter bases, receptacle boxes, or any enclosure that might contain electrical connections. Also, the apparatus of the present invention can be adapted to interface with an existing fire alarm system.
Yet another advantage of the apparatus according to the present invention is that no electricity is required for operation thereof. Also, the apparatus according to the present invention develops no heat or noise.
The most compelling advantage to the apparatus according to the present invention is the potential reduction in fire casualties and loss. The United States Center for Disease Control recently issued a Public-Private Fire Safety Council Challenge: to eliminate residential fire deaths by 2020.
The apparatus according to the present invention has the potential to reduce the number of electrical fires significantly, possibly saving hundreds of lives each year. If every breaker box were protected from fire, millions of dollars in damage could also be saved.
Therefore, the primary feature of the present invention is the provision of a safety apparatus that overcomes the problems associated with the prior art fire prevention devices and which makes a significant contribution to the fire safety apparatus art.
Another feature of the present invention is the provision of a safety apparatus that reduces the possibility of an outbreak of an electrical fire along with the attendant loss of life, injury and property loss.
Other features and advantages of the present invention will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art by a consideration of the detailed description of a preferred embodiment of the present invention contained herein.